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Adventure Stories and Activities
Here are some great fiction and nonfiction stories of adventure, and ideas for creating adventures of your own.
Book and description
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West With the Night, by Beryl Markham
The memoirs of a true adventurer. Markham was born in England in 1902, and grew up in Kenya. She trained racehorses, became a bush pilot, and was the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic from east (England) to west. Of this book Ernest Hemingway wrote ‘…She has written so well, and marvelously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer.’
Short Stories, by Ernest Hemingway
A comprehensive compilation from the master.
The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway
Simply a beautifully written story, cited by the Nobel committee when they awarded Hemingway the prize for Literature.
The Border Trilogy, by Cormac McCarthy
Two beautifully-written stand-alone stories of teenage boys, the last of the southwestern ranchers, taking place in the 1940s. The third book brings the two protagonists together.
Gates of Fire, by Steven Pressfield
Epic retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae, and the preparations of the Spartans that led to their success. Part of the curriculum at US military academies.
Dear Andrew, by Andy Ross
Andy married my mother’s cousin, and was the most positive person I ever knew. He was a Hungarian Jew, 16 when the Nazis invaded Hungary in 1944. Utilizing his Boy Scout training and his desire to survive, he escaped from and evaded Nazi troops and then Soviet troops.
1491, by Charles Mann
A fascinating study of what the Americas were like prior to Columbus’ arrival.
50 Dangerous Things (You should let your children do), by Gever Tulley
Full of exciting ways children can explore the world around them, safely.
The Dangerous Book for Boys, by Conn Iggulden
Essential skills for boys, like building tree houses and learning to fish.
Unbored, by Joshua Glenn
Hundreds of pages of how-tos, for both outdoor and indoor activities for adults and children.